HOW WAS ECKINGTON FOUNDED?
In 1815, Mr. Joseph Gales Jr. (pictured to the left) purchased a 112 parcel of land which he named for the village of Eckington in England where he was born. He later served as mayor of Washington from 1827-1830 and spent most of his summers and weekends at his country estate of Eckington just north of the city limits. Following his death in 1860, his manor was used as a hospital during the Civil War, and later utilized as a popular picnic area named Gales Woods.
The next evolution of Eckington came about in 1887 through the acquisition of the surviving 87 acre parcel by developer George Truesdell and his wife Frances. As a notable real estate entrepreneur, he laid out the streets and provided the initial infrastructure in large part by introducing the city’s first streetcar line, the Eckington and Soldiers’ Home Railway. By 1890, Truesdell's subdivision was being dubbed "Beautiful Eckington" by the local press.